Right field, which Lee Jung-hoo calls his big brother, is the height of his optimistic personality, but the last season in SF?

Mar 04, 2025

San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastremski will qualify as an FA later this year, which could be his last season as a teammate of Lee Jung-hoo. AP Yonhap News

Lee Jung-hoo continues to hit well in spring training for his second season in San Francisco. AP Yonhap News

This season, the San Francisco Giants outfield will be made up of left fielder Eliot Ramos, center fielder Lee Jung-hoo and right fielder Mike Yastremski. Ramos and Lee Jung-hoo are new stars who have played in the major leagues for one to two years, while Yastremski is a veteran who turns 35 in August this year.

He joined the Baltimore Orioles as the 429th overall pick in the 14th round of the 2013 draft, but he made his major league debut after being traded to San Francisco six years later in March 2019. In Baltimore, he did not stand out much in hitting, including power and accuracy, during his three-year career in Triple-A alone.

However, San Francisco, which recognized him, brought him in as a trade during the exhibition game that year, and sent him down to Triple-A to give him a chance to test. Yastremski made his debut on May 26 (Korea Standard Time) after receiving a big league love call with a batting average of 0.316, 12 homers, 25 RBIs, 38 runs and an OPS of 1.090 in 40 games for the Sacramento Rivercats.

After being selected as the starting left fielder in his first year, he has a batting average of 0.272, 21 homers, 55 RBIs, and OPS of 0.852 in 107 games, rising to a star-studded hitter. Yastremski, who was on the rise with 10 homers, 35 RBIs and an OPS of 0.968 in 2020, the shortened season, has not met expectations since, however.

After slowing down with a batting average of 0.224 with 25 home runs and an OPS of 0.768 in 139 games in 2021, the OPS rarely recovered with 0.697 in 2022, 0.775 in 2023 and 0.739 last year. There were also frequent injuries. In 2023, he was listed on the injured list three times due to a left hamstring injury, and last year, he was away for 10 days after injuring his abdominal muscles.

However, it is popular in club houses and has great trust from the club due to its impeccable dedication, play, and character other than hitting. Lee Jung-hoo also calls him 'big brother'.

In this regard, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the 4th that Mike Yastremski will prepare a farewell song in San Francisco?He was illuminated with an article titled '.

San Francisco Lee Jung-hoo (from bottom), Matt Chapman and Mike Yastremski are warming up by stretching in the outfield. AP Yonhap News

Yastremski made his major league debut at the age of 29 and reached his mid-30s without having time to enjoy his prime. This could be the last season in San Francisco. This is because he will receive an annual salary of $9.25 million this year, and will be eligible for FA when he finishes this season. It's a season where you have to light up fireworks before you get older.

Reporter Susan Slusser, who wrote the article, said 'Yastremski is entering the season as if preparing for a swan song in the Giants. So he tries to enjoy every moment.

Yastremski said in an interview that `Most of my pleasure is to enjoy freedom without stress in anything. I don't like the idea of `What if' \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\. So I will enjoy playing and win the championship. Because I'm the only team that's ever played a big league."

He then said "This team, the city and the fans mean a lot to me. I will go to the playground and do my best to run as if it were my last chance."

Journalist Slusser said, `Yastremski is the kind of player who is highly regarded by the people who see him every day and the overall metrics.'```. Last year, he ranked 4th overall in the outfield bodhisattva category and 5th in the run control defense (DRS) category in the NL right field. He also praised his excellent base learning and great colleague (Lee Jung-hoo calls him the big brother)'.

Mike Yastremski has a weakness for left-handed hitters. AP Yonhap News

However, his weaker-than-expected attack strength is a disadvantage. Reporter Slusser pointed out 'What he doesn't have is what baseball fans and the club want from Connor Outfield, a big offense figure.

Manager Bob Melvin said, `It's his greatest strength and I'm grateful that he's a player who does what the team wants. "I don't think the defensive indicators themselves represent his true value, given our home stadium. No one tries to watch right field here, and he defends beautifully."

Melvin then said, `Last year, his offense got better as the season went on. It was very hot at the end of the season. He can hit home runs in our home stadium, which is difficult for left-handed hitters to do.He said, "I agree that our offense is undervalued because we are committed to the team." After all, I'm not saying that the overall attack power is satisfactory.

Reporter Slusser said 'Yastremski has never had a WAR below 2.0 since his major league debut. He said, `It's not the number of attacks fans want, but he has survived so far even though he played in a platoon manner.'

Yastremski said "I want to play well against left-handed pitchers so I don't miss out on the lineup. That's my goal this year," he said, vowing that even if I play well against left-handed pitchers, my team may have a left-handed pitcher specialist, so I won't be stressed (even if I'm out)."